Automatic mail-elevator



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

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AUTUMATIG MAIL ELEVATOB..

No; 276,707` Patented May 1, 1883.

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- (No Model.)

\ AUTOMATIC M AIL ELEVATOR.

No. 276,707. A

riff. Pz P John W'Palne N. PETERS. PhnIn-ljlhugnpher, Washington. D. C.

ATENT trice.

JOHN YV. PAINE, F BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

AUTOMATIC MAIL-ELEVATO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 276,707, dated May 1, 1883.

Application led Ocio'ber 4,1882, (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN W. PAINE, a`citizen ot' the United States, residingat Baltimore,

Maryland, have invented certain new and uset'ul Improvements in Automatic Mail-Eleva-' tors, of which the following is a specification, reference being` had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming part hereof, and in which Figure 1 is a view in elevation of the shaft or well in which my elevator moves, the openings in each story of a building being shown,

` the shaft being broken away at each story on account ot' the great length which would otherwise require to be shown. Fig. 2 is a view, partly in section, of one side of the upper part of the shaft, showing the Iandingplace for the mail matter in an upper story. Fig. 3 is a section from front to rear, through the shaft, showing a double mail-box and the means for automatically opening and closing its bottom doors. Fig. 4t is a view of the lower part ot the mechanism, showing` the motor for' operating the device. Fig. 5 is a section showing the means for opening and closing the doorway in the shaft in each story. Figs. 6, 7, 8, and 9 are detail views.

Myinvention is in the nature ot' an improvement upon the elevator shown in United States Letters Patent 4l\lo.258,668, granted to meMay 30, 1882; and itconsists in the combinations and constructions of parts, which will be rst `fully described, and then particularly pointed out in claims.

In thedrawings like lettersindicatc the same parts in all the ligures.

A is a shaft or well wayreaching from the bottom to the top ot the ,building in which the elevator is to be used.

` jections, d d',

A is the mail box or car.

B B are the compartments of the car, of which there are as many as there are stories abovethe rst in the building. b b are the bottoms ot' these compartments, which are hinged at ce', and are provided with rear prowhich move in a groove, a., in the rear wall of the shaft or well way, and are composed of spriiig metal.

d2 is a weighted stop, pivoted in the groove a, near the top of thel shaft, whose purposeis to engage the projections d das the car moves upward.

e e are spring-latches, made cachot a single piece of wire, (shown in detail in Figs. 6, 8, and 9,) for holding the doors bb in position. They are provided with an eye, 4, at the top, through which passes the screw for attaching them to the wall ot' the shaft. From this eye the wire is carried down double until near the bottom, where each branch is bentoutward and forward, (see 5, Fig. 6,) thence inward to each other, Fig. 8, thence together in a diagonal downward and backward direction, 'as at 6, Fig. 6, thence outward, backward, and inward, the ends being brought together, as seen in Figs. G and 9, encompassing the bar g and its attached wedgeforf.

ff are wedges for withdrawing the latches c c to permit the bottoms b b to drop.. Their inclined faces and outer upright edges are ot' the widthot the bar g, aud hold the catches back until they are released, in'the manner hereinafter described. The sides of these wedges are grooved, as shown in Figs. 6, 7, and 9, the grooves being so deep at the top as to leave only a knife-edge, and gradually decreasing in depth to the bottom, where they disappear.

g is a vertical rod carrying the wedgesff, and having ahorizontal slotted projectiomg.

h is a pin moving in the slot in the projecting arm g', which pin projects from one side of a wheel, h', on a shaft, h2, and having spurs hi on its periphery. The shaft h2 is mounted in bearings fixed to the top ofthe car.

lis a pin With which the spurs h3 comein Contact as the ear is moved upward, thereby turning the spur-wheel a step each time. There is a stop, t, for each story of the building and an extra one near the top of the wellway.

G is the door in the front ofthe shaft, through which the compartments of the car are emptied, which is so mounted on ahinge, C', that it will normallyremain open when not held closed.

U2 is a pair of toggle-bars,one being pivoted to one edge of the door (Land the other to one side ofthe tube in a space provided to accommodate it out of the way of the car,`which space is covered by a thin metal plate, so that there will be no exposure ot the arms and toggles, and all risk ofinterfence with the movement of-the oar willV be avoided. This space is shown in Fig. 5, the covering-plate being removed. v

C3 and G4 are respectively downward and upward projecting curved armsrigidly attached to the inner end of the toggle-bar C2. A pin on the car engages 'the curved arms in the ascent and descent of the car, as hereinafter described. v

D is a box, one for each story of thebuilding, afxed to the front ot' the tube to receive the mail matter out ofthe car.

E is a rope or chain attached to the top of the car.

F is a pulley at the top of the shaft, over which the ropeE passes down through a box, F', to the upper one,`G, of a pair of compound pulleys, G G', each of which consists of a number independent pulleys mounted side by side on a shaf't, Fig..4, over and under which the rope is alternately passed. i

H is a cylinder having heads H' of ordinary form and mounted on bars-K K'.

.I is a piston moving in the cylinder.

J are bearings for the shaft of the pulley G, sliding on bars'K, the shaft of the pulley G' being in stationary bearings.

L is an endless band or belt .passing over pulleys M N.

L' is a rod or wire attached to the belt L, to the upper end of which isattached a handle, L2, inclosed in a box, L, attached to the side of the tube, (see Fig. 1,) which box is closed by an attachment, L4, to the door R.

m is the shaft of the pulley M.

n is the shaft of the pulley N, which is also the stem of a three-way valve mounted at thejunction ot' pipes O O'. The pipes O', O2, and O3 are connected by au ordinary .T- coupling.

l? is a weighted lever, pivoted at P' to the cross-bar l??4 on the top of bar K. p is a pin projecting from the side thereof'. At p' on the lever P is pivoted a spring clutch-bar, p2.

p3 is a pin fixed to the wall of the shaft to engage and operate thc clutch p2.

Q. is a stop or projection on the sliding bearing J to engage the pin p on lever P. This stop consists of an upright having a beveled latch at its top, and held in place by a. spring, Q', after the manner of a knife-blade, the purpose of which will be set forth.

R is the door to close the opening in 'the shaft through which the mail matter is inserted into the car.v

S S' are the doors to the compartment B B'.

T is a bell having a trigger or handle, t.

The lines l 2 3, Fig. l, are the different iioors of the building.

U are screw-holes,in which are the screws for fastening the plate which covers the opening containing-the curved arms G3 C* and togglebars G2.

The operation of my device is as follows: The carrier, having unlocked andopened the doorR andthe doors SS', (there being as many such doors as compartments and as many compartments as there are stories in the building above the irst,) inserts the mail in the proper compartment, the upper one containing the mail for the upper story, and so on to the lowest one, closes and Alocks the doors S S', and pulls the handle L2 of the wireL'. This turns on the water, and he may now lock the outer door and proceed on his round, there being no further attention required, the whole device operating automatically. As before stated, the pulling upward of the handle Ll on rod L' turns on the water. This is done by reason of the attachment ot' the rod L' to the endless belt L, the moving of which belt partially rotates the pulley N and with itts shaft u, which, as before stated, is the stem of a three-way valve at thejunction ofthe pipes O O'. allows the water to passthrough the pipes O' under the piston in the cylinder H, the pipe O' being att-ached to any suitable Water-supply. -The piston I now rises in the cylinder, carrying with it the bearings J, and per consequence the pulley G. This causes the distance from the pulley Gto pulley7 G' to increase and necessitates the lengthening of the ropes between the pulleys. This can only be done by taking in part ofthe rope E, which, drawing over the pulley F at the top of the shaft, carries upward the car A', thedistance which it moves upward being the product of the dis- `tance the piston moves by the number of times the rope is passed between the pulleys G G'. On its upwardl movement the car rst comes in contact with the curved arm 04,'(throngh the pin on the car,) and the arm is pushed by a. pin on the side of the car (not shown) tothe right, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, thereby bendngthe toggle-bars C2 downward, (also shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5,) thus opening or allowing the door C to drop'to its inclined position across the shaft. (Shown in full lines in Fig. 2 and in dotted lines in Fig. 5.) The movement of the curved arm C4 to the right throws the curved arm G3 to the left. (See dotted lines, Fig. 5.) The car beingy carried a short distance farther upward, one of spurs h3 of the wheel h' comes in. contact with the tirst'stop-pin i. This turns the wheel one-step,

causing the rod g g' and its connected wedges fj" to 'move downward through the medium of the pin h., operating in the slot in the horizontal arm g'. This causes the wedge j", which is longer than any of the wedges above it, to move downward into the loop of the springcatch c, (shown in bottom plan view in Fig. 9,) and draw said catch away from the bottom b' of the compartment B', allowing said bottom to drop into the position shown in Fig. 2, thus discharging its contents, which are deflected by the door C into the box or receptacle D. An alarm is given by the ca'r, as soon as it reaches each story, through-the medium of the bell or gong T, its trigger being struck by the car or a projection from it. The car continues on its upward course, opens another door G in the next story above, the spur-wheel is turned anotherstep by the next pin t', the rod gis driven ThisV IOS b, to drop and discharge the contents of compartments B into its proper receptacle. These operations are repeated at each story until the uppermost compartmentis emptied and the car is near the top of the shaft, all the doors' b b', Src., being in the vertical positionshown, and all the doors C lying diagonally across the shaft, as shown in Fig. 2. It is necessary and C be all closed and that the doors b, b', the car returned to the bottom of'the shaft,

and this operation I will now proceed to describe.

It will be noticed here that the bar g, by reason of the successive lowerings, has advanced the wedgesff into the loops of the catches e, and these catches are all held back on said wedges, so that if `the doors b b were shut there would be nothing to retain them closed. It is therefore necessary before shutting said doors to put the catches in position to hold them. In order to do this, the car is raised until the spur-wheel is turned another step by contact with the extra pin i, placed, as before stated, above the uppermost openingn the shaft. This moves the bar g down to its lowest position and forces the wedgesff entirely through the loops in the catches e e', allowing these catches to spring` into position to latch the doors when they are closed np. Ihese latches are now, however, above the wedges fft, and while they are in position to latch the doors, still the wedges are not in position to` release the catches on the next upward movement. Here the function of the peculiar coustruction of wedges appears, as will be present. ly explained. On moving the car still farther upward the spring projections d d' in the rear ol' the doors b b come in contact with the weighted stop d2, causing the doors to close, thegwhole series being closed successively by this one stop.r The car having nearly reached the upward limit of its movement, the stop Q, Fig. 4, comesin contact with the pin p on the lever P and raises saidlever. 'The motion of the pinp in raising being in the arc of a circle described on P/a-s a center, said pin is moved horizontally with relation to the stop Q, and when a certain point is reached rides off the top of said stop Q, when by its weight it falls. The clutch p p2 grasps the belt L, moves it downward with the weighted lever P, and turns the pulley N, thus turning the shaft a, (or valve-stem,) cutting off the water from the cylinder H, and `causing it to iiow through pipe O to any suitable wasteway.4

The lever P falls and carries the belt with it until the clutch-arm strikes the pin p3, when its grip on"the belt is loosened. The piston, beingnow relieved of pressure under it, falls gradually by its own weight, the car also falling and taking up the slack of the rope caused by the fall of the piston. The car having now started downward, it is necessary to remove the doorsCoutoftheway. Aprojection'in advance of the ca'r strikes the bentarm C3,it being in position seen indottedlines in 14ig.5,and,throw ing it into the position shown in full lines in said figure, straightens the toggle-bars, thus closing until opened by the next ascentof the car. As the car passes down,the projections on the rear of the doorsb come in contact with the stop d2, which simply tips up, allowing them to pass by, and being caused Vto resume its normal position by reason of its weighted rear end. As the car moves downward the spurwheel comes in contact with the pins i. This draws the bar g and its wedges upward. This is rendered possible by the spring-latches e e opening laterally, their ends riding in the grooves in the wedges, as seen in Figs. 7 and 9, until by the successive raisingsot' the barg the wedges are carried up entirely above the catches e, ready for a repetition of their work,

as first described. The car is now down at the bottom of the shaft, ready to be again sent up. The pipes O2 O3 being open, any water which may get into the cylinder above the piston will 'ne forced out at the next upward stroke.

It will be understood that while I have herein described my invention and the best means now known to me for carrying it out, still I do not confine thyself to these exact means, as many changes and variations might be made without departing from the spirit of my invention. t

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as. new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a mail-elevator, thel combination of a shaft, a car to receive the mail, adapted to move in said shaft, andmeans for raising said car and automatically discharging its contents into an-upper apartment, as set forth. t

l2. In a mail-elevator, the combination of a shaft having a door, C, in` its wall, a car for carrying'up the mail, and means, substantially as described, whereby the door U is made `to form a deiieclor to throw the mail out of the shaft. t

3. The combination, in a mail-elevator, of a shaft, a car, means for hoisting the car, and means for automatically dropping the bottom of the carto discharge its contents, as set forth.

4. The combination, in a mail-elevator, of a shaft, a car to receive the mail, and means for automatically/opening and closingthe door of IIO IZO

the car, said means being operated by car, as l set forth.

5. The combination, in a mailelevator, ofa shaft, a carto receive the mail, and means for hoisting the car and automatically reversing its motion to lower it, as set forth.

6. The combination, in a mail-elevator, of a shaft, a car, means for raising the car, and means, substantially as described, for automatically closing the door of the car, as set forth.

7. The combination, in a mail-elevator, of a shaft, a car adapted to be raised and lowered therein, a door in the shaft for theinsertion the shaftfand means, substantially as de-V scribed, whereby the lowering of car automatically closes the door of the car and the door C, as set forth.

9. The combination, in a. mail-elevator, of a. shaft having an opening in each upper apartment, a door to close each of suoli openings, a

`car adapted to move up and down in the shaft,

and means, substantially as described, whereby such doors are automatically opened and closed by the movement of the car, as set frth.

10. The combination, in a mail-elevator, 0f a shaft having openings in each upper apartment, doors closing such openings, and means, substantially as described, whereby such doors are held closed until automatically opened by the ascent of a car in the shaft, as set forth.

1l. The combination of pulleys IWI N, mounted on shafts m n, the shaft n being a valvestem, the weighted lever P, pivoted at P', carrying pin p and spring-clutch p p2, and the moving head carrying spring-stop Q Q', as set forth.

12. 'The combination of pulleys lVI N, belt L, Weighted lever P, pivoted at P', spring-clutch @Zand pin p3 to release the clutchvvhen the weighted lever drops, as set forth.

13. The combination, in a inail-elevator, of the shaft having an opening in its front, a door to fill said opening, toggle-bars pivoted to said door and the wall of the shaft, curved leverarms rigidly attached to one of the toggle-bars, and a car moving in the shaft, for the purpose set forth.

14. The combination, in a mailelevator, of ashaft, a car adapted to move therein, the bottom b of said car, spring-catch e', supporting. said door, and bar g, having wedge f to release said catch, as set forth.

15. The combination, in a mail-elevator, of the shaft, the car having door b', the spring catch e, the har g,havingwedgef and slotted arm g', the Wheel h', having pin h, and means for rotating said Wheel step by step.

16. The combination of the door b', springcatch c,constructed as described, havingaloop, bar g, Wedge j", having grooved sides, and means for automatically lowering said bar and wedges, as set forth.

17. In combiuation,thef.ioor b,catch c, wedge f, bar g, slotted arm g', Wheel L, having pin h, and spurs h3, all attached to the car, and the piu i, attached to the shaft.

1S. The combination, in a mail-elevator, of a shaft having rear grooved wall, the weighted stop pivoted in said groove, the car having door b', and springprojection d on said door, as set forth.

19. In combination, the shaft having pins i, spur-wheel having pin h, bar g, having slotted arm g and series ot' wedges ff', car having compartments closed by door b b, and springcatches e e', as set forth.

20. In a mail-elevator, thecombination, with a shaft, of a car adapted to move in said shaft, and having a series of compartments, a door for each compartment, and means for causing the doors to be opened automatically and successively, as set forth.

21. Thespring-catch @,formed ofasinglepiece of wire having eye to receive fastening-screw, vertical arms, ledge for receiving door, and loop through which Wedge f passes, the ends of the wire abutting at rear of said loop, in combination with Wedge j', having grooved sides, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have scribed my name.

Y JOHN W. PAINE.

Witnesses n S. BRAsHEARs, JNO. T. vMADDoX.

hereto sub- 

